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But seriously, whichever client owns the dog that has its head screwed on right that weekend, and all the luck running with it.

Bringing this back to biggish trials, but how DO other clients feel about the mega-winners sucking up all the points and continuing to run? Not sure how I'd feel if my dog got beat week in and week out by some mega-star ALSO on my same Pro's truck. I'd be thinking "OK, great, FC Wonderdog won his gazillionth Open, but WHEN'S IT MY TURN?"

Maybe Pros should turn the megastars back over to their owners to continue running after thay have qualified for that year's nationals. I don't know.

I think a Pro running his own dog is just a mine field for that Pro.

Lisa

"Go sell crazy someplace else. We're all stocked up here." - Jack Nicholson in As Good As It Gets

When you pay a pro - esp pay him a handling fee - you are really paying him to win with your dog.

If he wins with his own dog - he simply is not doing his job.

I.E. His job is not just to win - his job is to win with his client's dog.

A Pro's job is train the dog to the best of his/her ability. Period. Nothing more, nothing less. It fails the logic test to think one is paying a Pro to win an event where 99% of those entering will finish the event as losers.

CLIENTS decide if the dog they are paying to be trained should be competed. If competed, EVERY dog coming off the Pro's truck SHOULD have been trained to maximum extent possible and EVERY DOG should be put in the BEST position to win the event, reardless of ownership.

Given a limited amount of time in the day, a limited amount of dogs being able to be trained, and an almost unlimited need for cash flow (client dog = cash flow) if a Pro wants a hole on his truck, it's the Pro's decision.

Having said this, if you send a dog to a Pro, and the Pro has a dog on the truck, and you are the LEAST bit concerned the Pro maybe be spending more time with their dog than yours, you need to find a new Pro. ASAP.

Having run my own dogs in HT's and made the "I'm sorry, your dog didn't but yes my dog did, and thank you for asking." call, it was most uncomfortable for me. I can't imagine what it would be like to have to do that at the FT level...but, having the greatest clients in the whole wide world, they have told me if I elect to run a dog I own, they are all for it.

A Pro's job is train the dog to the best of his/her ability. Period. Nothing more, nothing less

I could not disagree with you more on this Joe. We are discussing a competative FT pro active on the circuit. How many of these clients pay him only to go a series or two? Or just to get 2 out of the 3 birds?

Clients want to win. If they are smart, they know they will not win every weekend - but at some point they want that call on Sunday night.

What you say is true of a gundog pro or a HT pro. But for a FT pro - its a different animal.

If I am paying a handling fee, then I bloody well do so with an expectation that it will give my dog an edge (e.g better change of winning). Otherwise, I can keep my hard-earned dinero in my chinos and run the dog myself. I can lose all by my ownself!

Lisa

"Go sell crazy someplace else. We're all stocked up here." - Jack Nicholson in As Good As It Gets

Bringing this back to biggish trials, but how DO other clients feel about the mega-winners sucking up all the points and continuing to run? Not sure how I'd feel if my dog got beat week in and week out by some mega-star ALSO on my same Pro's truck. I'd be thinking "OK, great, FC Wonderdog won his gazillionth Open, but WHEN'S IT MY TURN?"

For all you FT number crunchers out there.... How many titled dogs continue to campaign for points vs taking the title and saying that's it?

What's the percentage of titled vs non-titled dogs in an average open/am?

And just for speculation - what would happen if titled dogs could no longer compete in opens & ams - say they had a special titled stake or something so they could still play, but did not take points away from the not yet titled dogs? Bad idea????